Supreme Court commands witnesses to communicate in Hindi

A Supreme Court judge, Dipankar Datta dismissed a petition seeking the transfer of a motor accident case scheduled for a hearing in the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal, which was the site of the accident. 

The petitioner had raised a concern that the witnesses in the case belonged to Silliguri and hence the language barrier could obstruct the judicial process were to be heard in Farrukhabad as scheduled. 

The court rejected the petition and in its order also mentioned that "In a country as diverse as India, it is no doubt true that people speak different languages. There are at least 22 (twenty-two) official languages. However, Hindi being the national language, it is expected of the witnesses who would be produced by the petitioner before the MACT, Fatehgarh, U.P. to communicate and convey their version in Hindi. If the contention of the petitioner is to be accepted, it is the claimants who would be seriously prejudiced not being in a position to communicate or convey their version in Bengali."

Furthermore the judge had also mentioned in his report that since the petitioners had themselves exercised the choice of approaching the MACT located in Fatehgarh, Uttar Pradesh, the contention that it is not the location of the accident does not hold validity. The petition was hence overruled.